The Haitian government’s tenuous grasp on the economy and political institutions continued to weaken in 2002. It was unable to provide basic security, health care, education, or enough food and jobs for its citizens. The country lingered near the bottom of the United Nation’s annual survey of living conditions. Life expectancy was less than 53 years. At least 23% of children aged five and under suffered from malnutrition, and only 39% of Haitians had clean water available to them. Preventable diseases went untreated. Roughly one out of every 12 Haitians had HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44,000 new HIV/AIDS cases would occur in Haiti in 2002—at least 4,000 more than the projected number for the U.S. It was feared that the number of children orphaned by AIDS would soar from 163,000 to between 323,000 and 393,000 in the next decade.

A study by the World Bank concluded that 15 years of aid through 2001 had not had a noticeable effect on the reduction of poverty in Haiti, since projects had been implemented in a disorganized manner and government officials had not continued improvements. Direct aid to Haiti had been suspended in 2001 owing to irregularities in the May 2000 elections. The Haitian government publicly declared that the $18 million it owed would not be paid until international agencies released additional funds to the country.

Pres. Jean-Bertrand Aristide remained Haiti’s most popular figure, but the breadth and depth of that popularity were increasingly coming into question. A large amount of his domestic and foreign support had evaporated. In addition, allegations circulated widely that an attack on the national palace that took place on Dec. 17, 2001, had been staged to allow government supporters to launch violent reprisals against offices and homes of opposition leaders. An Organization of American States (OAS) report supported these allegations. In August, for the first time since Aristide appeared on the political stage in the early 1990s, some of his own loyal followers revolted against him, and for a while they controlled Gonaïves, the country’s fourth largest city. The possibility that the political situation was getting out of hand prompted the U.S. and the OAS to reconsider their aid embargo. In a significant shift of policy, they resolved in September to support Haiti’s proposal that foreign aid be unblocked. In return the OAS called for the Haitian government to establish an electoral council, improve justice and public security, and keep the door open for a role for the opposition.

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